I have the privilege of being on the Board of Directors for Adventuremen, which is a Christian men’s outdoor activities organization. If you scroll to Adventuremen.org and Adventurefest.org you will see the mission of Adventuremen and also the sign up for Adventurefest which is always the weekend before Father’s Day every year. This year it is the 12th, 13th and 14th of June and it always is a great event with mountain bike rides and camping in the Laurel Highlands. There are a lot of other outdoor activities as well as great speakers at the Boyer’s Pond Campground near Somerset, Pa. If you are not into camping, there are a lot of hotel options in the Somerset area. Suffice to say that this is a weekend you might really enjoy if you are an active guy in the Southwest Pa region.

One of the hallmarks of the rides is when we all roll along and we see someone hiking or riding on the trails. Shark makes a point to stop and greet them and ask, nicely, whether they have any prayer requests. People say, “no thanks”, or “not today”, or “no that’s ok”, but more often than not, someone always says ….”.yes”. At that point Shark asks them to be specific and they say things like, ” how much time do you have?” or “please pray for my back”, or “I have a relative or friend who is sick”, or even things like” I am in a bad relationship.” Shark puts his hands on them and prays for them, Tears flow, gratefulness abounds, and more often than not, the person or persons walk away with a calm sense that they never thought they would have had walking or riding on the trail that day. There are no accidents and Shark always believes that you have to put yourself out there. Especially in these times when people are troubled, evil in the world is apparent, and in general, people need the help of someone who cares. We run into them on the trails and Shark always says, ” I like to give them the message like I would tell them about a great restaurant or a great pair of skis. The Christian message is uplifting, and most of all- non judgmental. This is the essence of a Dirt Church outing. I have to be careful to always stop with Shark and turn off my Garmin watch. His message to people is way more important than my exercise and metrics.

Two years ago, I convinced my pal Bob Anderson to come to Adventurefest. He was always one of the best riders and racers around and had recently turned things around in his life. Things other than training and racing had become important, and he began investigating the claims of Christianity. We had some interesting discussions on our way to West Virginia to ride and watch the World Cup MTB races at Snowshoe. He and I had a lot of conversation on the chairlifts when we skied together and in short, I was a good sounding board for Bob as he made his way through some troubling times in his life. When I asked him to Adventurefest, he enthusiastically said yes and punished us on the rides. LOL!! But when he heard guys giving their testimonies around the campfire at night, he was inspired and moved. So much so, that he stayed at the campground in his camper another week to ride and enjoy the solace of the Laurel Highlands. He contemplated what he had experienced at Adventurefest, and thought about his interaction with the guys from Adventuremen and Dirt Church.

Tragically, Bob was killed a short time later riding his mountain bike in North Park. He rode over a downed high voltage power line that came down in a storm the night before. We were all devastated at the news, and at his funeral at his church, Northway Christian Community Church in Wexford, Pa, there were literally hundreds of mountain bikers in attendance. Some of the people were believers and some not, but they heard a very uplifting message from the pastors at Northway. The service touched a lot of people and at the memorial ride and lunch later in the year at Pittsburgh Pro Bikes in North Park, there was a packed house. After the ride, people heard testimonies from Bob’s family and friends. It was kind of surreal thinking of all the time I had spent with Bob in the past, the car rides together, and the chairlift rides together and of course the mountain bike rides that I only could share when he would slow down. Only to spread his ashes on the trails and think about the fact that Bob changed his life, appreciated what was important, and after some great Dirt Church outings and attendance at Adventurefest, he was now in Heaven in the company of the Lord.

Now I share all of this only to tell you about Adventurefest, about Dirt Church, and certainly not to make anyone uncomfortable. But really, as Shark would say, the good news shared at these events is just that- good news. Nothing judgmental. We mountain bikers are basically dirt bags and in need of a good Dirt Church. Some guys would not consider darkening the door of a conventional church, but may just like to hear a good message in the great outdoors. Nothing wrong with that and if you are of that ilk, come to a Dirt Church outing or consider joining Adventuremen and going to Adventurefest. Again- Adventuremen.org and Adventurefest.org. Check out the testimonials on the website. I wrote them. Thanks for reading and blessings to all of you.

” For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16